Fresh look draws tenants to long out-of-date plaza

On
Tuesday he was all smiles as he commented on recent changes to Denton Plaza.

“We have
had the parking lot resurfaced before and had the building painted,” he said.
“But in the whole time that I have been here, no one has ever done any of these
upgrades.”

Galaviz’s
Mexican restaurant has been in Denton Plaza at Elm and Prairie streets since
November 1987.

The
recent upgrades to the retail center include new signs, a leveled foundation, a
new roof, parking lot improvements and fresh paint. Renovations of the
15,000-square-foot building began last fall as soon as the team at Saratan
Corp. took over the center.

“As far
as we know, this is the first time it [the center] had been renovated,” said
Sarah Bhagwat, the leader on the project. “While other projects in Denton may
seek and receive public-sector financial incentives, the Denton Plaza project
did not receive any such consideration — thus, all investments were from
private sources.”

The
building dates back to 1965, according to the Denton Central Appraisal
District.

Julie
Glover, Denton’s economic development program administrator said in an e-mail
that in the 19 years she has been with the city, she had not learned of any
renovations at Denton Plaza.

“He’s
really done a great job, insulation, parking lot, new HVAC … ,” Glover said,
referring to Suda Bhagwat, who works along with his daughter Sarah.

The
reward of renovating the building over the past year is having new tenants
become a part of it.

At least
seven businesses are now open or will be opening at Denton Plaza in the next
couple of weeks:

a
restaurant and bar called Irish Boozer owned by Stephen “Blue” Tate, who
operates a similar business in Frisco and says the expected opening date is
Aug. 17;

the Last
Drop Tavern, a bar serving wood-fired brick-oven pizza, owned by Rick Reid, who
has more than 25 years of experience in the bar and restaurant business;

Elm Smoke
Shop & Vapor Shop, operated by Roy Ahluwalia, who has similar shops across
the region.

“We have
a great mix of tenants, and they all have great services for Denton’s growing
populations,” Sarah Bhagwat said.

The
tenants agree that the recently renovated building will bring more traffic to
the south side of the Square.

“The
interior of it was terrible,” Tate said of his space. “Now you wouldn’t
recognize it.”

With each
business he’s worked on, Tate added, the purpose is to make sure it feels and
looks different.

“It was
in very bad shape,” Vizcarra said. “The bar that was there before, it had
cobwebs and it was filthy and dirty. You would have never thought of going in
there.”

Vizcarra
said the tenants at Denton Plaza are already working together. Four of
Vizcarra’s employees, who are graduates of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary
Arts in Dallas, will be working with Reid, while Reid will be using Milestone Annex’s
kitchen to prepare his fresh pizza dough daily.

It is not
the first time Saratan Corp. has renovated Denton properties. The team’s first
renovation project, the Denton Development Center on Loop 288, took place in
2005-06. In 2011, her team renovated the Congress Center, at 108 S. Congress
St., which includes first Milestone Celebrations and Loco Cafe.

Denton
Plaza still has 30 percent of space available for leasing, Sarah Bhagwat said.
She added that she wants to attract businesses to the plaza that will add more
diversity, such as a medical services office, a juice shop, a massage and
health spa, or other similar businesses.

Laitinen-Kniss,
who moved her yoga and Pilates studio from its previous location on Pecan
Street, appreciated the local mix of tenants at the renovated plaza.

“What I love is that it [the building] is all local businesses, and I
think that is what sets Denton apart — we have a lot of local business and
owners who the community gets behind and supports,” Laitinen-Kniss said. “And
you know how they say, ‘Keep Austin weird’ — we really should say, ‘Keep Denton
local,’ because that is really what we are.”

Galaviz
said he would like all the businesses to work together and possibly host a
community block party one day.

“It will
be a good way to celebrate,” he said.

KARINA RAMÍREZ can be reached at 940-566-6878
and via Twitter at @KarinaFRamirez.

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